Wells And Summers
by Lightdemondarkangel
Summary: “We can’t just tell Buffy ‘Hey, your dad cheated on your mom more than once and this time, he got someone pregnant. Congratulations, Andrew’s your brother!’ It doesn’t work that way.”
1. Repeat That

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer: **Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers: **Post "Chosen"

--

He hadn't looked at the briefcase in five years. Not since before Sunnydale went under through his heroics. But he couldn't take all the credit for saving the world and possibly all the dimensions in the multi-verse. Buffy, the Scoobies and the potentials turned slayers did their parts, as well.

But before that all went down, they were all still planning their attacks against the First Evil. It was during that time when he was given the briefcase. His mother had given it to him when Buffy had allowed him out of the house one day to do whatever, under the threat of a serious maiming if he tried to run out of town. Of course he wasn't going to leave the slayer to deal with this threat. He came back specifically to help her out and join her gang.

When he had found his parents, they were packing. This was before the general populous decided to get out of town, but they must have known in advance. He didn't really know that much about his parents as he was never really close to them, but he assumed they had some ounce of magic in them. He could do spells of a certain level, and his brother was at a level higher than him, so it made sense that his parents were the same. They were all born and raised on Boca del Inferno, after all.

They weren't exactly happy with his choice to stay in Sunnydale, but after hearing about his plan to help the slayer, they gave in. And after taking a few of his possessions, his mother handed him the briefcase, making sure his dad didn't see it. When he got back to Buffy's house he had every intention of looking through the bag, but things kept happening that distracted him.

It wasn't until now, five years later that he was given a chance to finally breathe and take a look at it. Running a multinational corporation took a lot out of a person. Well, the rest of the board might argue that he wasn't running the whole operation by himself. They helped, but he was very important at what he did.

"Here goes nothing."

He had found the briefcase one morning when he was looking for something else he thought he had lost. He still hadn't it, but he did find the briefcase.

Flipping it open, Andrew pulled out several papers and pictures. A lot of them were pictures, actually, but they weren't of him. They were of his mom, but when she was younger and with her was a man, who was most certainly not his dad. After sifting through the pictures, he found a piece of paper, what looked like might be a letter.

"Holy bejesus!"

--

Coughing wildly, Andrew tried to wave away the smoke that appeared when he teleported in.

"Those are only used for emergencies, Andrew," Willow sighed.

"It is one, I swear!" he yelled, using his other arm to wave the papers in her face.

"Stop being so spastic," Dawn snapped as she tore the papers from his hand. Straightening them out, Dawn read. And read some more. And after taking a second to look at Andrew in disbelief and back at the papers, she looked at the pictures. "Are you—You can't—How?"

Squirming under her gaze, Andrew tried to answer. "Well, when two people love one another--"

"I know that, you dweeb!" Dawn snapped again, this time regretting it when she saw Andrew's sad face. "Sorry, Andrew, I'm just—This is just weird, you know?"

"Well how do you think I feel?" Andrew shot back. Off Dawn's smirk, he continued. "Well, alright, this is very cool, but still, it's weird."

"Majorly."

"What is everyone talking about?" Willow frowned. The entire exchange had confused her. Taking the papers from Dawn's hands, Willow read them and almost fainted. "Is this for real?"

"You don't believe me?"

"I do!" Willow assured Andrew. "It's just, wow."

"Yea," both Andrew and Dawn said.

"When do we tell Buffy?" Dawn asked. "I mean, she has to know."

"How do we tell her?" Andrew asked, nervous. It wouldn't do well for Buffy to react badly to the news and kill him.

"He's right, Dawn," Willow sighed. "We can't just tell Buffy 'Hey, your dad cheated on your mom more than once and this time, he got someone pregnant. Congratulations, Andrew's your brother!' It doesn't work that way."

"Andrew's my what?!"

The three spun to see Buffy standing, clearing the smoke from her abrupt appearance.

"I guess it can work like that," Dawn muttered.

"Does no one listen to me when I say those teleportation potions are for emergencies only?" Willow groaned.

"This is an emergency, a shopping emergency," Buffy defended her reasoning. "And I repeat, Andrew's my what?"

"I found some papers and pictures that my mom had," Andrew answered. "I guess your dad, or I guess, our dad, had an affair with my mom. Sorry?"

"I feel like I should be upset or even surprised, but I can't bring myself to feel those things," Buffy sighed. "What does that say about my life?"

"So you're not going to, um, kill me?"

Rolling her eyes, "No Andrew, I'm not going to kill you, my half-brother. I might make a visit to Spain, though."

"You do realize what this means, right?" Dawn smiled. "The three of us have all fantasized about Spike!"

"Dawn!" Buffy glared.

Coughing, Willow raised a hand in the air. "Make that four. What? He had a mysteriousness about him! I wasn't doing anything wrong!"

--


	2. Progress

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

--

"Buffy, I don't believe now is the time for this," Giles sighed as his slayer rolled her eyes.

"Just—Trust me, Giles, you'll need it."

Knowing that he wasn't going to win, Giles reached over and pressed a button on is intercom. "Emily, would you please send up a bottle of Scotch."

"Will do, Mr. Giles," Emily's chipper voice came through.

"Will you please explain to me why I have my assistant running to get me Scotch?" Giles asked.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy spoke, "I need you to tell me everything about Andrew's progress so far."

"Buffy, that's hardly a reason to get me to drink," Giles admonished her. "There has to be something else."

"He's my half-brother."

A pause.

A very prolonged pause.

"Emily, make that two," Giles had reached for his intercom again.

"Two bottles coming right up, sir."

"Sorry, Emily, I meant two cases," Giles clarified.

"Is there an apocalypse, sir?"

"There may as well be one," Giles replied.

"Two cases, Giles?" Buffy smirked. "I didn't think the news would be _that _bad."

"It's not just for me," Giles smiled. "Now please, tell me how this all happened."

"It's kind of a long story."

"And from my experience with you children, you have the uncanny ability to make incredibly long stories into incredibly short ones," Giles deadpanned.

Knowing she was caught, Buffy sat up straighter in her chair, "I guess mom and dad were having problems earlier than my high school years. I'm thinking they had problems right after they were married and when they had me, they put whatever differences aside. It didn't last; dad came down to Sunnydale for several "business trips" and got together with Andrew's mom. I don't think he knows about Andrew, though."

"I would imagine you've told the others?"

"Dawn and Willow were there," Buffy answered. "They were training and Andrew told them first."

"How comes her training?" Giles switched topic for a moment. It wasn't often that he was able to visit his young wards and he took every opportunity he could to hear about them. And after learning that Dawn was showing signs of becoming a capable magic user, Giles stepped into congratulate her.

"Willow says Dawn's coming along nicely," Buffy nodded. "She's taking her to meet the coven."

That came as a relief to both Giles and Buffy. It wasn't that they didn't trust Willow to teach Dawn the basics of magic, but they both knew that a coven would be exactly what Dawn would need. Finding her own social network outside of the Scoobies, who, even though they knew Dawn was grown, they still treated like a child at times.

"I haven't told Xander, he seems a little busy right now in Cleveland with Faith and the rest of their slayers," Buffy shrugged. "I guess I could drop in with one of Willow's potions and tell him."

"You know those are for emergencies correct?" Giles fixed her with a look she knew all too well. Though she had gotten use the look, and he knew it.

"I know, but tell that to everyone else," Buffy threw back.

Willow had created the teleportation potions for, as everyone kept mentioning, emergencies. A demon uprising in Russia and the only available team is in South America? Just use a potion and there you are, slaying in Russia. The "only for emergencies" part of the plan quickly flew out the window soon after. Slayers and even Watcher's were using it for trips they could easily afford on their salaries.

There were talks to restrict the potions because word had been coming in that certain people were using the potions just to get from point A to point B. Point A being their bedroom and Point B being their kitchen downstairs.

"So why is it that you want to know about Andrew's performance?"

And wasn't that a loaded question?

"I don't know what to do about any of this," she shook her head, frustrated. "I mean, he's my brother whose mom is somewhere in America and hasn't tried to contact her son about his whereabouts and a dad who is probably still in Spain and doesn't know about him. And even if he did know about Andrew, I doubt he'd come and see him. I want to be there for him, but our past hasn't exactly been the greatest. And that's my fault."

And now he understood why she was here.

She wanted to get to know Andrew better, but was afraid that the way she treated him all these years had destroyed any connections they could have.

"Buffy, while I agree that some of your methods for dealing with Andrew haven't been stellar, you have to remember how you first came into contact with him," Giles reminded her.

"I know," she rolled her eyes at the thought, "Warren, him and Jonathan. He was just being manipulated, though, by Warren. I can't keep blaming him for that. How can I be sure he wants this?"

"How is Andrew handling this?"

"Last I heard he was—Okay, so he wants to be my brother."

Noticing the slip, "What has he done?"

"He said something about big changes happening and teleported out. Willow and Dawn think he's gone off to scare everyone who has ever made fun of him by using his relationship with me to do it."

"Yes, that does seem like something the boy would do," Giles nodded, smiling. "And how do you feel about it?"

"Whatever makes him happy," she shrugged, "As long as no one gets hurt. So please, Giles, how's his progress?"

So he told her.

After the plans for rebuilding the Council had been approved and construction had started, Andrew had approached Giles about training to become a Watcher. Giles agreed right then and there for a few reasons. The first being there were a shortage of Watcher's and any help they could get would be immensely helpful. The second was because Andrew already had some knowledge about demons and magic and the third was because Giles already had plans on asking the boy.

It was difficult at first because many of the conventional ways to become a Watcher had been destroyed in the bombing, so Giles did the best thing he could think of. He had Andrew shadow him. Actually, he had Xander doing the same when he was helping with the plans to rebuild the Council.

It had been a struggling year of balancing heading up all the Council buildings and training Andrew, but in time he had come to helping Giles with numerous problems throughout the Council related to attacks slayers around the world were dealing with.

"I think in terms of his Watcher duties, he is fully prepared to guide his own slayer, or perhaps a small group," Giles told, truthfully. In the past five years, Andrew had been dividing his time between the Europe branch of the Council with Giles and the American branch with Xander getting the more physical side of being a Watcher.

"He's really that good, then?"

"It wasn't me that found the spell to banish that demon lord in France," Giles told her.

"That was him, really?" Buffy smiled, remembering the incident that happened about a year ago. A powerful demon that had managed to escape L.A. during the demons riots had set up shop in Paris. They hadn't known he was still alive until it was almost too late.

"Yes, and it was he who spoke the incantation to banish him."

"And he's with the magic developing? Wow, I guess I should have been looking at him more. Great, I'm a horrible sister."

"Buffy—"

"I know, I know. What else has he done? How's his combat skills?"

"He's, uh, received the standard training that all Watcher's have adhered to," Giles nodded. "But I would imagine that being on the Hellmouth w-with Xander and Faith, they've seen to it that he's more prepared."

"That's good. So he's really coming along, then?"

"He has shown a vast improvement from what he once was, though his old ways still pop up from time to time," Giles grimaced.

"Still spouting off random Star Wars knowledge?" Buffy chuckled.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, as you know Eastern Europe is kinda heavy with demonic activity. Even more so now that demons from Africa are scared to come into Western Europe with the Council always stopping them," Buffy managed to speak. "And you know, life in Italy is kind of getting old. I wake up, I shop, I patrol and I sleep."

He could already see where she was going with this, but wanted her to say it.

"And I'm not saying the team of slayers in East Europe are doing a bad job, but there's a lot of area to cover and you need someone else there, someone with experience."

"And this someone would need a Watcher guiding her, to make sure this someone knows which demon is which, what their name is and such? So as not to butcher it."

Glaring, "Well, this someone has gotten better with names in the past five years."

"Of course," Giles chuckled.

"So, I guess what I'm trying to say is," taking a deep breath, "Giles, I want to patrol East Europe for a while and have Andrew as my Watcher. Trial run of course."

Smiling, "Buffy, you don't have to ask. You are in charge as well."

"Oh," Buffy frowned, "Then I demand you give me Andrew and we'll take East Europe."

There was the confident Buffy he knew and loved. "Are you sure you wish to do this with Andrew?"

"If you trust him, Giles, then so do I."


	3. Hungry in Hungary

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

--------------------------------

"Is anyone else hungry?"

"If you make another hungry in Hungary joke, I'm going to let those this demon have you."

"I think your Watcher may have something to say to that."

Backing away from the conversation, Andrew decided to let the slayers talk it out.

Victorious, Buffy turned to the younger slayer and smiled, "I win, so the vamps can have you."

"It's only because he's your Watcher and brother," Carolin huffed. "If our Watcher wasn't recovering, he'd totally take our side."

While not wanting to verbally defy the head slayer, the three other slayers present were mentally agreeing.

"Fine," Buffy huffed right back. "But the hungry in Hungary has got to stop."

"Fine," Carolin nodded. "But this isn't right. Fighting against a demon when it's cold, I'm gonna be freezing my nips off!"

"Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow will stop a slayer from completing her job," Andrew interjected.

"Because we're postal workers all of a sudden?" Carolin spoke, thinking about what Andrew said.

"Girl's got a point," Buffy agreed.

"Can we just do this please?!" snapped Becca, a slayer from Leeds.

"Looks like someone failed witty slayer banter 101," Buffy muttered, knowing full well all the slayers could hear her. "And I worked so hard in teaching that class and making that final."

"You should see her during an apocalypse," Carolin shook her head at the serious slayer. "All stern and determined when she should be joking while she's fighting for her life."

"I'm so glad you're here for this Carolin," Buffy smiled. "It's not every day I find a slayer as sarcastic as me."

"Wouldn't miss this for the world," the slayer nodded, getting serious.

It had been three weeks since Buffy and Andrew had arrived in Vienna, Austria, their first stop. Three weeks of Buffy getting to know the operations of the slayers patrolling Eastern Europe. It was a rather large area, but hey, Buffy protected Sunnydale while the rest of the world was left alone. But the demons in this region were particularly vicious, so some pretty good slayers were needed.

Carolin, a blonde slayer from southeast Michigan led the group, with Becca, the slayer from Leeds as her second. The two other slayers were twins, Michelle and Michaela, from New York. There was a fifth slayer, Claire, but after a nasty fight between some Ka'bel demons, she didn't make it. They were all amazing slayers, but Ka'bel's attacked hard and fast and in great numbers; Claire did not stand a chance alone.

"So what's our demon, Andrew?" Buffy asked her brother, elated when her stomach didn't turn over the word. The past three weeks had been good for the growth of their relationship and there's nothing like a demon to bring family together. They had heard word about the demon through a contact; he was raising hell in Hungary. Buffy was fortunate that it wasn't actual hell he was raising, though.

"An Orix," he answered, stepping back up. He was not prepared to stop two slayers from arguing, especially if it led to physical fighting. "He's nothing big, but his apprentice is what you have to worry about."

"Apprentice? You're not confusing this with Star Wars are you?"

"No, my young--"

"Don't call me a Padawan," Buffy glared.

Clearing his throat, he continued, "While this is similar to that, I mean his apprentice knows a lot more people, a lot demonic contacts."

"So we do something wrong, the apprentice could make a few calls and bring more demons?" Michelle asked. It was simple to tell the two apart, Michelle streaked her blonde hair black, while Michaela just stayed a blonde.

"Something like that," Andrew nodded. "Stealth is a must and that is what a slayer excels at."

"That's what this one excels at," Buffy thumbed at Becca, who tried not to blush at the praise she received. She didn't normally do this, blush at a comment, but she also didn't normally fight in the presence of Buffy Summers.

"I can go on ahead, gather some intel and be back before you know it," she spoke.

Buffy nodded, agreeing that Becca would be the best for the job. She wouldn't normally agree to let one slayer go out to gather information in such a dangerous place, but Buffy read the files on each slayer; knew what she needed to know. She said Becca was good and she wasn't lying. Becca's dad was a detective and she learned a thing or two from him and that was before becoming a slayer. Now? With the knowledge she picked up from him and her abilities, she was very good at going unnoticed and getting the information she needed.

That, and Becca had a habit of being very independent, even so far to the point of insubordination.

She knew all their strengths and their weaknesses, which actually weren't that many, which is what made them all very excellent slayers.

"So, when this is all over, you think we can sit and talk?" Carolin asked, going for the uninterested look on her face.

Uninterested face or not, Buffy knew what this was about. "You'll have to go through the consideration process like everyone else, Carolin, but we can talk."

"Cool beans."

"So, Becca will get ready, leave in about 15 minutes, do what needs to be done and be back before midnight," Andrew started, taking his leadership position for what it was; leadership. "Everyone else, do your patrol route, but only go for the places with light activity, there's only going to be three of you tonight. Be back a little after midnight."

"And get some rest," Buffy interjected. There didn't appear to be any slayer who could sleep for very long.

"We'll come back tomorrow morning and plan our attack."

"Which'll consist of us going in and kicking some bad demon ass, right?" Michaela asked.

"Basically," Andrew nodded, "But it's still good to plan."

Plans set, the team of four slayers stood from their planning table, otherwise known as the dinner table and went their separate ways; Becca to change for her mission, Carolin, Michelle and Michaela to their rooms to get ready for their patrol.

Sighing, Buffy turned to her brother who was nervously straightening the papers in his hands. "When will the fifth slayer be coming in?"

"That's actually something I wanted to talk to you about. A few slayers were picked, all excellent at what they do."

"You've got but face," Buffy's eye narrowed.

"It's nothing bad," Andrew's voice squeaked. "One of the slayers would be a good pick because she'd be good at taking over the second in command position once Becca becomes the leader."

"Why would this be happening?" Buffy smiled.

"Because we all know you're going to consider Carolin for a position on the team, and Becca will take her place and then we'd need another position for the fifth spot, someone equally as good as Becca when it comes to stealth," Andrew explained as he held out a few folders with potential candidates inside.

"You're right, we need a second and a stealthy slayer," Buffy took the folders. The whole idea of considering other slayers had actually been Faith's idea. While every single slayer was good at what she did, not all were suited for certain missions. Faith wanted to handpick a few slayers to study under her, which shocked many people; Faith usually liked working alone. People felt Buffy should do the same, which was why in the past three weeks Carolin had been dropping not so subtle hints about being paired with Buffy.

'_I'm getting better at this leadership gig, don't you think?'_

'_I'm thinking a change of scenery, you know? More demons to slay and whatnot?'_

And Buffy's personal favorite.

'_If you don't consider me, I'm so turning evil and handing you over to the bad guys. Oh, and I'm giving away your entire wardrobe.'_

"You think she'd be good on my team?"

"You know she would be."

"You'd be her Watcher," Buffy reminded.

"We can do this," Andrew nodded, sure of himself.

"Exactly what I wanted to hear," Buffy said, standing from the table with the folders in hand. "I'm going to go call Dawn and then look these over."

--------------------------------

"So everything's good? He hasn't forced you to kill him because of his Star Wars knowledge?"

"No, Dawn, he hasn't," Buffy chuckled. "I'll admit, though, I expected that. I mean, he has been throwing random knowledge about it at me, but it's tolerable."

"So the relationship has gotten better?"

"Yea," Buffy's voice lowered, "After, y'know, I kinda made him cry."

"Buffy!"

"Don't scream, Dawn," Buffy groaned. "It was a teeny, tiny accidental slip of the tongue and there were tears. But I fixed it and now we're better."

"Really?"

"Really."

And that was the truth. The three weeks she spent with Andrew were actually kind of eye opening. Andrew being a nerd was pretty much something everyone knew, but she actually got to know the man underneath the nerd. He was professional when he needed to be, but he also knew how to drop the Watcher act and just be her brother and friend.

"He's good with the slayers, too."

"Like, Xander good or standard Watcher good?"

"Neither," Buffy answered honestly. There was just something about Xander that all the slayers loved, but Andrew didn't have that. "He's somewhere in between. When Claire died he was there for them when my words weren't enough. He really is a good Watcher. The training I helped him put into place is really pushing the girls."

"Wow, definitely was not expecting that from the dweeb."

"You know that dweeb is also your brother," Buffy reminded.

"Little sister privileges; I'm allowed to call him that," Dawn fired back, with no real hostility in her voice. "So what's next for you two?"

"We've got a demon to take care of and we'll probably move onto another country."

"And in the meantime, you've got a list of candidates to consider taking under your command."

Groaning, Buffy massaged her forehead, "Everyone is down my throat about this. Do you have more lists to give me, too?"

"Only ten," was her sister's answer. "When are you gonna actually train them?"

"I'm thinking maybe spend a few more weeks here. I thought I'd be needed, but these slayers really are good and don't really need me. I'll start choosing, but we have a trip to make first."

"We?"

"Me, you and Andrew need to stop off in Spain and say hello to daddy dearest," Buffy spoke, her voice flat.

"Ah yes, good ol' pops. I'm excited."

--------------------------------

_Holy crap, an update! Next up, stopping the Orix demon and Buffy going over her list of candidates._


	4. Britney Spears

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

--------------------------------

**Carolin's POV**

I hate this part; the calm before the storm, if you will. I just wish we could just start fighting. Like, after we discover the demons and make a plan of attack, we should get teleported there and start slaying some demon butt.

Maybe that's why some slayers are wary of me; I'm way sarcastic and I'm crazy about slaying. If slaying were a sport, I'd be MVP. And I don't even like sports. Where was I again? Oh right, I told the others to get ready for the big slaying tonight of the Orix demon, his apprentice and their minions. From the recon that Becca had gotten, the demons had shacked up in some old abandoned warehouse. And what's up with demons being so attracted to those types of places?

Stay focused Carolin. Your slayers need you to be focused for this, which is what I'm about to do. If the others knew, they'd definitely never let me hear the end of it. My preferred choice of getting hyped for a fight is not doing a warm up or going over the information, or even meditating in silence like most slayers, but Britney Spears. Yes, I'm a closeted Britney fan. There's just something about her songs that get me pumped up for the big fight and I haven't lost yet, so that's gotta mean something, right?

I wonder if Buffy listens to Britney Spears. Hold up, be kind and rewind, I'm sounding like a pathetic lovesick slayer or something. Which it's totally not that way; I'm just happy I was chosen as a slayer and then chosen to lead a group and will hopefully be chosen to study under Buffy. That would be majorly cool.

Becoming a slayer was amazing for me. I wasn't like the other girls, the ones who came from bad childhoods or something like that. I was just normal; I had some really kickass friends, my parents rocked and school was going fine, but I just felt like something was missing and then that day came. I knew I was changed, I just didn't know how. It wasn't until those silly commercials with Andrew and Vi started showing up that I realized I wasn't alone.

My parents know the truth. I mean, what caring parents just lets their fifteen year old daughter go off to get training in killing vampires and demons? No matter how good I like to believe I am, they still worry. Of course, I've been told by a lot of people that I'm good at what I do. Just three years of training and I was out of the academy and two years after that, here I am.

I wasn't a prodigy or anything and there are a lot of other slayers who could wipe the floor with me, but I am good.

_It's Britney, bitch._

You gotta love "Gimme More". I mean, come on, great song to prepare with. I also may have been known to dance a little to this song, but again, the others could never find out.

As the music fills my head and I start to shake my body a little, I walk over to my closet, trying to find the best outfit. I'm practical, unlike a lot of slayers who think that patrolling in heels is the only way to go. I go for all black: pants, t-shirt, pull-over and running shoes. I'm for sure thinking about putting in an order of some type of protective vest or something.

These demons, they should be a cake. As in, a piece of. This apprentice isn't telepathic or anything. The only way for him to get in touch with his contacts is using a cell phone to call them. Part of the plan was to kill him first, or at the very least, separate him from his cell phone. That was all Becca, she could sneak up on someone who had eyes in the back of their head if she wanted to.

I'm actually kinda jealous of the bitch for that skill.

Okay, she's not really a bitch, but that's my colorful language for you. I don't actually mean anything by it, since I call everyone a bitch, but it takes some getting used to for people.

People say I curse like a sailor.

But I don't agree, I mean, the sailors had to learn from someone.

"You ready in there, Carolin?" Buffy's voice had cut in to my music.

Turning off and putting my iPod away, I open the door to find Buffy waiting, the Scythe in hand. It's funny how we're all slayers, lower case, but whenever Buffy gets brought up, her title is capitalized, as well as her preferred weapon of choice, the Scythe. It's the same with Faith.

"I'm good," I tell her. Turning around walking over to my trunk, I start loading up on weapons. "Just gotta get some weapons."

There's bound to be some vampires, so I take two stakes. I'm really good with short swords, so I strap one to my back and strap a dagger around my leg. I would take a crossbow, but I'm sure Becca is already prepared with that. She's pretty good at being my second, always thinking of the things I miss.

"I looked at your file again," Buffy tells me as I pull my door close and we walk to the dining room, where the others will meet us.

"Oh yea?" I knew what she was talking about. I mean, the minute her plane landed three weeks ago, I had been bugging her about it. Come on, though, how do you not want to be the one who takes over as leader after Buffy or second after Faith retires?

"I can already tell you, you're in," she smiled at me.

Hell yes!

"But what about the others interested?" I kept my cool on the outside, of course. A slayer has to be dignified, after all.

"I've got four more spots to fill, so I'm not worried. Yea, a lot of people applied, but not all of them were what I was looking for."

"Some just wanted to be in the league with Buffy Summers?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little as Buffy rolled her eyes. She didn't want to be idolized, but that couldn't be helped. And it probably made the consideration process a lot easier for her.

"So how many actual candidates?"

"Twenty-three with any real, actual interest. I'll work on it after the flight to Spain."

Ah yes, Spain. Finding out that Andrew was related to Buffy was something of a shock. I don't know him that well, but he seems cool, if not a little out there. And to be a relative to Buffy or any of the Scoobies is something amazing if you talk to any slayer. Well, you know, the ones who haven't gone rogue and tried to take them out…

"How are you going to handle your dad?" I'm already on Buffy's team, I think I'm allowed to be personal with her.

"I'm clueless. But I'm thinking something involving those teleportation portals."

She didn't say anything else, which was fine by me. I assumed the less I knew, the better chances I had to not being considered a witness to the case of Buffy Summers vs. the entire freaking country of Spain.

"Let's get this show on the road."

That came from Becca as soon as she saw me and Buffy join everyone else in the dining room.

"And remember, wait for Becca to strike the apprentice before hell breaks loose," I reminded everyone.

--------------------------------

Now, I do believe I told everyone to wait before hell broke loose to do anything. Actually, I can't blame anyone else; I should have made sure to tell myself that bit of news. The journey to the warehouse was fine. Well, maybe not for Michelle and Michaela. They're the slayers who aren't big on practical clothing and may have gotten confused for hookers working the streets.

Besides that, we found the warehouse and got into position just fine. Becca had somehow snuck inside unnoticed. Michelle was at one entrance, while Michaela nabbed the other one. Andrew stayed close to Michelle, while Buffy and I settled for the roof. And that's exactly where it all went wrong. What possessed me to _stand_ on the one patch of glass roof?

Here I am, waiting for the apprentice to be all with agony and dying with a crossbow bolt in his head when the glass cracks and I fall through, right into the lap of the apprentice. Like, seriously, he was conducting business with the Orix and I fall into his lap.

And they're still shocked at my entrance as no one has moved yet.

"Um, Avon calling?"

Not my best quip, as the apprentice literally threw me out of his lap and onto the table in front of him, which meant I was caught between him and the Orix. Before the apprentice could make another move, my leg was swinging in the air, catching him across the face. It wasn't enough to knock him to the floor, but it was enough to make his whole body turn, which Becca took as a good sign and fired off her crossbow. The apprentice was dead before he hit the ground. As that was happening, the minions dispersed. Some headed for the exits, where Michelle, Michaela and Andrew were waiting. The others either headed for Becca or me.

Unlucky for me, I had the Orix behind me. It roared, I turned my body again and I punched. That wasn't enough to do much of anything but piss it off as it glared at me and came at me again. I didn't think the big demon would be that fast but it somehow got passed my defense and grabbed me by my pull-over and swung. I didn't land far, so I had to think quick as it charged.

"Carolin, catch!" Buffy, who had dropped in on table, yelled. She threw something from her hand and I couldn't believe what was coming at me, over the demon's head. Buffy Summers had actually thrown me the Scythe! She didn't even look to see if I caught it as she had thrown herself at the minions trying to protect their master. But, of course, my hands were on the weapon before my brain fully realized it.

Few slayers had actually used the Scythe and those that did tried to describe it, but failed. And now I knew why; the power was just… indescribable. There was no other word for it.

Gripping it with both hands, I knew this demon would be toast. Rolling forward underneath its fist, I came up behind its back and kicked out, getting the demon in his right side. He swung backward with his right arm, but I was not having that! Bringing the Scythe up, handle first, I could feel the demon's arm breaking from the force of my blow.

I wanted this over. And as much as I wanted to keep the Scythe in action, cause, come on, me a slayer holding the weapon made for a slayer…

While the demon roared in pain because of his broken arm, I swung again, aiming for the demon's neck. It was thick, but my weapon was totally badass and went right through it.

I may have done a little victory, but it couldn't be proved as it was cut short when a minion tackled me.

--------------------------------

"You know, it never hit me that demons would have dangly bits," Michaela spoke, as her sister tried to hold back a snort and failed miserably.

I didn't even try to hold back as my head hit the table with a thud and I cracked up.

"It certainly didn't stop you from kicking him there," Becca smiled.

"He had me cornered on and on the ground, what else was I was going to do?" Michaela shrugged.

"I think that one is for the record books on slaying techniques," Buffy smiled, as well.

It's always good when the leader agrees.

"It's upsetting that you're leaving now," Becca frowned. "Spain, right?"

"Yes, but I can't imagine that taking too long," she answered. "Depending on how the situation here looks, I may or may not be back. Not to mention, I have to be all decision making and meet with the slayers I choose."

"Are you 'porting there?" It was Michelle who asked and at the glare that both Andrew and Buffy sent her way, she continued, "Not that I would ever promote the use of it, cause this is not an emergency."

"The Council jet will be waiting for us in the morning," Andrew told everyone.

--------------------------------

_Ok, so the visit to daddy dearest will be the next chapter. My first foray into first person point of view and I go beyond my normal word length for this story. No worries, of course, it'll happen! Gives thanks to Chosenfire for her idea for the next chapter, as well!_


	5. Smothering With A Pillow?

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

--------------------------------

Like the Death Star with its two meter exhaust vent, Andrew knew this was not going to end well. No, they were not about to build a small replica of the ship, which would be majorly cool, by the way, but they would be, in a way, acting as the Rebel Alliance against the design flaw of one Hank Summers.

Of course when Buffy was explaining the plan to Andrew in terms he would understand, she forgot that by design flaw, she meant Andrew, which led to her quickly apologizing.

"It's okay, Buffy," Andrew had told her, which was the truth. In almost a month, his relationship with his half-sister had grown, much more than he expected it to grow when he just wanted to be her friend during the whole Sunnydale mess with The First.

He now had the ability to understand when she was joking with him and when she was being sincere, much like the "design flaw" incident.

But, growing relationship or not, he knew this was a bad idea and would probably end up with them getting arrested. Or quite possibly ran right out of Spain. But, as much as he wanted to not do this, deep down, he wanted answers. He loved his parents, but he always felt like something was missing and Andrew had to know if the answers were with Hank, his real father.

But this plan was just plain wrong.

--------------------------------

"I don't like this," Andrew whined as soon as they finishing teleporting in, because hello, this was clearly an emergency.

"For the thousandth time, we do," Dawn whined back.

"Couldn't we come back at another time? No one sees anything wrong with this?" he tried once again to reason with Buffy.

"I see nothing wrong with teleporting into our dad's house in Spain in the middle of the night while he's asleep with his wife who is probably half his age, I'm sure," Buffy answered.

While Dawn was contemplating how Buffy managed to say all of that with one breath, Andrew was still feeling uneasy about the whole situation and it was his entire fault it was happening the way it was. Aboard the plane to Spain, the three siblings were deciding how best to handle the situation with Hank. Dawn suggested just showing up at his job and making him look like a complete jerk for abandoning all three of his children. Buffy, well Buffy's idea was something not exactly PG-13 rated, not even R rated. That was quickly vetoed by both Dawn and Andrew; they wanted Hank to live, at least. It was Andrew who jokingly suggested surprising him at night and it seemed to stick with his sisters.

"I guess it's a slayer thing," Dawn spoke, still referring to Buffy's lack of breathing. And after another thought, "Maybe a wicca thing, too, because Willow does it best."

"Focus," Buffy warned, "We've got a dad to stalk, and maybe maim."

Both of her younger siblings coughed.

"Fine, not stalk, whatever, let's do this," Buffy corrected herself as she led the way up the stairs of the very large three floor home. She had to admit, even in the dark, the home itself was beautifully constructed, though the décor of the house wasn't doing much for Buffy. She wondered why there seemed to be so many doors as she searched for her dad's, but Buffy was assuming he didn't have any other children running around.

Using her senses to focus, she could hear her father's snoring coming from the door all the way down the hall. Her two siblings at her heel, she led them to their dad's door and without hesitating, pushed the door open and found that she guessed right.

Underneath silk sheets was her father, who was spooning his wife, a twenty-something brunette.

"Isn't this sweet?" Dawn asked once she moved in the room, coming up beside her sister at the foot of the bed.

"Nauseatingly so," Buffy answered, flat.

"So, what do we do?" Andrew whispered as he stood on the other side of Buffy. He was so close to getting answers, but Hank was sleeping, so there went that.

"I still say my plan works," Buffy shrugged.

"Buffy, there will be no smothering with a pillow, no pushing down the stairs and no unfortunate accidents involving knives," Dawn snapped.

"And we aren't letting you take him for a drive," Andrew threw in.

"I was only going to talk to him as I drove."

"We know," both siblings spoke. "And that's the problem."

Silence.

"So we're stuck?" Buffy finally asked.

"We could just wake him, and hope he doesn't call the authorities since we're technically trespassing," Andrew offered, impatient.

"Or, count this as a recon mission and find him at work," Dawn muttered. "We can't do much if he's asleep and we're not waking him up."

"Tomorrow then," Buffy spoke as she turned around and left, upset that this was a waste of time. But Andrew felt different, he at least had an actual visual picture of what his dad looked like, even if it was dark and he was sleeping.

--------------------------------

After doing a bit more recon on her laptop, Dawn discovered that their dad worked as a partner at a law firm. What was most shocking was that no one knew Hank spoke Spanish, which showed just how little they knew the man.

"It's a Spanish law firm, but just about everyone speaks English," Dawn shrugged as they walked past the doors.

"I don't care what languages they speak, just don't tell me this place is connected to Wolfram & Hart and I'll be fine," Buffy spoke as she started walking toward Hank's office. It was nice having connections, being able to get the floor plans of the building.

"Nope, Wolfram & Hart have their own office in the country, but nowhere near this location," Dawn answered. "Let's hope they don't attract their attention."

"You can't go in there," Hank's secretary slash wife stopped them from her desk. "Mr. Summers is in a meeting."

They were only a few feet from the door, and while Buffy had every intention of breaking the door down, she had a question for the women. "Of course, sorry, what's your name, miss…?"

"Mrs., actually," she corrected with a smile. "Mrs. Isobel Summers."

"Oh, of course," Buffy plastered a fake smile on her face. "Do I look familiar to you?"

Studying her, the brunette shook her head. "Should I?"

"We had hoped you would," Dawn answered, seeing where Buffy was headed with this. Pointing to her brother, "This is Andrew Wells. I'm Dawn and this is Buffy."

The names didn't register to the woman.

"Dawn and Buffy Summers," Dawn continued and smirked when the woman's eyes widened in shock and maybe fright. Using her sudden shock as a distraction, Buffy walked forward, Dawn and Andrew behind her and threw the door open. Kicking them open may have gotten them kicked out of the building.

Sitting at a long table were several men in expensive suits, and there at the head of the table was Hank Summers whose face looked as shocked as his wife's.

"Buffy..?" Was all he managed to say.

"Hank, who is this and what is she doing interrupting this meeting?" one of the men spoke, quite upset at the disturbance.

"Hi dad, long time no see."

She figured introducing Andrew as his son to a room full of strangers may not end well, even though she was very, very tempted to do it.

--------------------------------

_I know, Buffy seems a little crazy and gung-ho about torturing Hank, but that'll change. She'll mellow in the next chapter… Unless of course you WANT her to torture him?_


	6. Alive, Yes Well? No

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

**A/N: **Omfg, you guys, I was not expecting the amount of feedback I received! You guys are amazing!

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"Buffy…"

"We've already established my name, dad," Buffy sighed and then placed a fake smile on her face, "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"You know better than to answer that question, Hank," another man spoke. "Usually happens every few months, a kid coming in claiming to be your long lost child, wanting back child support."

"Claiming?" Dawn scoffed. "Why would we claim—oh you cannot be serious!"

Eyes narrowing, Buffy stepped closer to the table, completely aware that a few of the men grew tense. Did he really not tell anyone that he had children? How could he not? Even after the fighting and the divorce Hank made it seem like she'd always be daddy's little princess and here he was, denying her very existence.

"Let me get this straight, you left us, for another continent, another wife, another life and you didn't tell anyone that you had children?" Buffy asked. By now her palms were flat on the table and she was glaring directly at Hank.

"Can we speak in privately, please?" Hank asked, desperate. He was already ruined, his secret now out to everyone in the room.

"No," another man spoke. He sounded remarkably like Giles, accent and all. He also didn't like Hank very much and wanted some dirt on him. "Please stay and talk. All day if you need to."

Turning to Andrew, Dawn nodded her head in the man's direction, "I like him."

Knowing he was trapped, Hank cleared his throat, stood from his chair and walked toward his children and their friend. There was no easy way to handle this.

"Gentlemen," Hank spoke, "These are my daughters, Buffy and Dawn. I'm not quite sure who their friend is, though."

"All in due time," Dawn said, taking Hank's eyes off of Andrew.

"He's never mentioned you."

That came from the man who seemed to not like Hank. "In fact, I've never seen a picture of the two of you, and I've looked in his wallet."

"We figured," Buffy spoke. "We also figured that he probably told you nothing but lies about his past."

"He transferred from America because of a new leadership opportunity," another man spoke, telling the story of Hank's past to the best of his ability.

"That may be true, but he left out a whole bunch of information."

'Let's start at the beginning, shall we?" Dawn stepped forward and clapped her hand on Hank's shoulder.

--------------------------------

**Cleveland**

"Hey, X-man, what's this I've been hearin' about Andrew being B's bro."

Glaring up at Faith's appearance, Xander closed the lid of his laptop. Didn't anyone knock anymore? He could have been in a meeting, or even looking at something naughty.

"I've already seen it, so why should I be surprised?" Faith smirked, in that all too familiar way that she did.

Oh, did he say that out loud?

"Hey, what kind of boss would I be if I just let everyone walk all over me?"

Thinking for a moment, Faith answered, "Giles."

"Point," Xander laughed. "But he still gets respect from everyone. And yea, the rumors are true, Andrew is the Buffster's half brother."

"Bet she loves that."

"Actually, from what I could get out of Wil, they're doing the whole bonding thing and it's working."

"Just keep him away from me," she spoke as she slid into a chair, giving Xander a better look at her.

"Tired there, Faith?"

Glaring, Faith responded, "The babies are tirin' me out, okay."

"Says the slayer who handpicked her team of two."

"Only cause they pissed me off the least."

While Xander agreed that Alyssa and Beth didn't anger Faith nearly as much as several of the slayers at the Cleveland Council, he knew she liked them. They were so completely unlike Faith in terms of personality, but when it came to slaying, they were eerily similar. While he would never admit this to Buffy, because he was sure she'd kill him, Faith was the strongest of the two when it came to pure strength, as that's what she mainly relied on, and her two mentee's were the same.

"Of course that's the reason. How are they doing, still beating the stuffing out of their Watcher?"

"I trained them well."

"Just remember, if you break their Watcher before you get together with Buffy and her picks, you'll have Andrew watching your slayers, with you under him," Xander smirked.

"Oh screw that, Harris; it was enough working with him when he was here getting trained!" Faith sat up.

"True, but G-man tells me he's gotten better and you had a hand in his training," he reminded the slayer. "Besides, even with the Watcher for your slayers, he'll still partner up with Andrew in battle plans and stuff."

"Workin' with the dweeb whether I want to or not," she realized. "This is messed up, Harris."

"Get used to it, Lehane."

--------------------------------

"And so, the moral of this story is," Buffy finished with a look at her sister, "Dawn, you wanna take this one?"

"Don't divorce your wife, leave for another country and forget your children existed, perhaps?"

"You left out don't have your child committed because you 'just didn't know what else to do'," Buffy added.

"Hank…"

"Yes, Mister Ward?" Hank looked toward the man, knowing that, after looking at the gathered faces, he had lost any support he had. His daughters had told their story, of him leaving Joyce for another woman and fleeing to another country because he wanted a new beginning. They knew that he abandoned his children, leaving his family without any means to take care of themselves.

And now they knew that he didn't even attend his ex-wife's funeral.

"Maybe you should take some time off and get your affairs in order and we'll discuss this when you come back."

At least he wasn't fired… yet.

"Yes, dad, let's talk, we have much to talk about," Buffy grabbed her dad's arm and pulled him from the room, past his still shocked looking wife, with Andrew trailing behind them, leaving Dawn still standing in the room.

"Oh don't worry, this story has a happy ending," Dawn assured them. "The guy with us, he's Hank's son with a woman he had an affair with while still married to my and Buffy' mom, but Hank doesn't know it, yet."

"And how is that a happy ending for Hank?"

"I didn't say it was Hank's happy ending," Dawn smirked as she walked out of the room.

The man who didn't like Hank, Mister Ward, turned to the rest of the men and spoke, "I like her."

--------------------------------

"Just smile and walk," Buffy told Hank as she pulled him along, hoping to find an empty meeting room or something.

The conversation, more like slaughter, that had taken place with Hank and his colleagues went better than she had thought. She told the story, without the mention of anything related to her calling, and got the sympathy from the men she had expected. Besides, it's not like she was telling a lie for it. Hank did abandon her when she needed him most. She probably wouldn't have told him about her being the slayer, but she would have appreciated him being there and trying to help her when he thought something was wrong.

Not making her go through psychiatric treatment.

"Here we are," she spotted a room and shoved Hank inside, her sibling's right behind her. Pushing Hank into an office chair, she stood, just looking at him.

"Buffy…"

"No, dad, you don't get use that voice and expect everything to be okay. You left us, throwing us away and what? You expected we'd land feet first and live a happy, secure life? Do you know how long it took before mom was able to take a break? After dealing with the lawyers, getting a job, and finding an affordable house?"

"I knew she'd be okay."

"Is that your only defense? You knew she'd be fine? You're right about that one, though. And what about me and Dawn? We needed you when mom couldn't be there."

"Buffy--"

"No, just… No."

"You heard about Sunnydale, right?" Dawn took over.

"The sinkhole, yea, pretty sure everyone around the globe did. But you made it out alive and well."

"Alive, yes," Dawn nodded at the memory. "Well? Not so much. But you wouldn't know that since you didn't even try to contact us."

"But we're not here to make your life miserable," Buffy cut back in. "Well, more miserable since I think we kinda ruined you back in that office."

She wasn't kidding, Hank had thought to himself. But this couldn't have been the Buffy he raised. She wasn't this cold, sarcastic and unforgiving. He had to remind himself that he was probably the cause of this new Buffy. The little girl he knew died when he left.

"We're here because of Andrew," Buffy smiled as she pulled him forward. He was perfectly happy standing off to the side and just looking at his dad.

"Hi," Andrew managed to speak. He even did a small wave, good for him!

"Hello."

"It would seem that before the secretary and during mom, you met someone else, about 25 years ago."

The timeline wasn't ringing any bells for Hank as he continued staring at Andrew. Where was this leading?

"And wouldn't you know it, Andrew was born 25 years ago."

No, this couldn't be possible. Hank swallowed, remembering his time with the woman he had an affair with. "You're my son."

There was no use denying it, though he would ask for a paternity test to verify this.

--------------------------------

_So I'm pretty sure no one knows Andrew's real age, but I figure he's younger than Buffy and older than Dawn, so there you go. _

_And this totally doesn't count as a cliffhanger! I was going to originally end it after the Faith/Xander scene, but figured you'd bring out the stakes and try to slay me._

_Up next, a resolution of this conflict and we move on to something new!_

I'm a review whore, so enable me, please?!


	7. He Had Been Evil, After All

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

**A/N:** This is probably gonna be the last appearance by Hank and I don't mean he's gonna die!

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"How did you, uh, find Buffy and Dawn?"

Was that safe ground? Did he have the right to ask that? Damnit, why was this so hard?

"We went to high school together, but we didn't meet until afterwards," Andrew answered, using the rehearsed story he and his sisters had come up with. The story was partly true, too. "We didn't get along at first, she didn't like me or my friends and we didn't really like her."

"What changed?"

Alright, they were finding common ground; this was turning out to be a safe conversation.

"My one friend, Warren, he took things too far and so I wound up siding with Buffy," he shrugged, trying to refrain from using sci-fi references. That too had been part of the rehearsed story.

--------------------------------

While Andrew and Hank were busy discussing their lives inside the conference room, Dawn and Buffy were outside, giving them their privacy, while at the same time, Buffy monitored their conversation using her enhanced hearing.

"What are they talking about now?"

"They've moved on from saying nothing to talking about how Andrew came to know us," Buffy sighed. "It's progress."

Facing the room, Dawn chewed on her bottom lip, nervous, "I know we came here to ruin dad, which I'm totally okay with, but what happens if he suddenly grows a heart and wants to get to know Andrew?"

Pushing a strand of hair behind her ears, Buffy shrugged. "I really don't know. I mean, we can't stop Andrew from getting to know dad. But, I'd rather Hank not know about our night lives, you know?"

Whatever Dawn was about to say was interrupted by Buffy's cell phone ringing. Watching her sister check who was calling, she smirked when Buffy groaned. It was definitely Council business. As Buffy turned away to answer, Dawn turned her attention back to her brother and her dad. This entire situation was just weird, less than supernatural weird, but more than the normal weird. If Hank somehow got more involved in their lives, what would happen? Would they all be one demon slaying family or something?

Of course, that begged the question; would Dawn want Hank to be a part of their demon slaying family? Her memories of Hank were similar to Buffy's, but she never actually knew the man. But, knowing what he was capable of, leaving their family, she wasn't sure she wanted to know him. This was all so confusing, and she was kinda happy that it was Andrew they were here for and not herself.

"Alright, how 'bout this, Dawn goes to Italy, wraps up that business, Andrew and I come back to London and give the chosen slayers the rundown, that sound good?"

"Why am I going to Italy?" Dawn turned to her sister once she ended the call. She wasn't upset per say as she had nothing to do after this trip. It was either Italy to do whatever was needed or go back to London and do whatever. It also showed that Buffy was letting her be her own person. After Sunnydale collapsed, Buffy had kept up Dawn's training, in addition to her training as a field Watcher. While Buffy had her mother-henning moment, the past five years had shown a great improvement in Buffy's ability to let Dawn be an adult.

"They're having a demon clan trying to make a name and sent out a call for a Watcher…"

"And since the Italian branch doesn't have a leader, that responsibility is going to me?"

"Just until you help them out with this, shouldn't be too hard, the Italian Council never had anyone in charge of it because the demons are usually not a problem to deal with."

"While this is happening, you and Andrew..?"

"Will be meeting with my chosen slayers," Buffy nodded and then groaned a second later. "We've narrowed it down to four slayers, and with Faith's two that makes eight of us for two Watcher's."

Dawn was almost glad she wasn't going to be her sister's Watcher. It was bad enough being around her and Faith when they patrolled or were dealing with an apocalypse, but six spell awakened slayers who were probably likeminded seemed a little too much to handle.

"They're already there?"

"Yup, and annoying Giles to no end about when I'll start their training," Buffy smiled.

--------------------------------

"I am sorry that I wasn't around to get to know you," Hank spoke. And he really was. While he didn't regret living his new life, he did hate the way he ended things with Joyce. Knowing that Buffy was never the same after putting her in that institution, he should have stayed longer, helping both her, Dawn and Joyce get through it, but as soon as he heard about the change in scenery, he jumped at it and left them all behind. It wasn't his brightest move and now, here he was, seeing another child he had.

"Maybe it's better than you weren't around," Andrew shrugged. He had been evil, after all.

"I should have kept in touch, known you were my son," he sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "I should have stayed in my daughter's lives."

"We're not expecting anything from you," Andrew interjected. He had to make sure Hank knew that. "I just wanted to meet you after finding that letter."

"I understand you're apprehension," Hank nodded. "And I've no doubt that you're busy doing your job, whatever that is, but I would like to keep in touch with you. Buffy and Dawn, too, if they wish to."

Doubt it. "I'm sure they would want to." Again, he was evil once upon a time. "But I wouldn't mind."

--------------------------------

"He's agreeing to keep in touch with him," Buffy sighed. Exactly what she needed right now. While she may have cooled down since the previous night of wanting to throw a punch at her dad, she was still upset over everything. When she had seen him in that meeting room, her memories of her dad had come rushing back all at once. And yes, she had a little explosion. So small that anyone could have missed it. Really.

But, she wasn't a leader for nothing. She couldn't just kill the man. Even if he was her demon dad, he hadn't really done anything that actually warranted a slaying. Fine, she wouldn't kill, maim or torture him, but she was not letting him back into her life. If Andrew wanted it… well, she'd warn him that he was probably going to run away, but she wouldn't forbid any contact between the two.

"That's good, right?"

"Fine, but neither of them should expect me to be in the same room with them," she answered. That was all she could really do.

Seeing that Andrew and Hank were shaking hands and Andrew was heading their way, the sisters backed away from the room and attempted to look nonchalant.

"How'd it go?" Buffy asked.

"You were listening, weren't you?" Andrew narrowed his eyes. His question as answered when Buffy's mouth opened a little and her eyes looked every which way except at him.

"Ah, uh, erm…"

"She was," Dawn shook her head, trying to look disappointed in her sister.

"You would have been too, if you had my hearing," Buffy glared, but turned back to Andrew, "So you're keeping touch? I wouldn't keep my hopes up."

"I know, and I won't," Andrew spoke. It actually sounded more like a whisper, which let his sisters know that he would probably change his plans and think the best of Hank. After all, he was his dad.

"So we're done here?" Dawn asked, quickly trying change to subject and lighten the mood.

"Yea, we're done," Buffy answered, but she was still looking at Andrew. She was really starting to care for the dweeb, er, guy.


	8. You've Met Her, Like In Person?

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

**A/N:** Done with the Hank part of the fic, on to the rest!

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Stifling a yawn, Buffy turned away from her jet window, pulling down the shutter to block out the rising sun. It was far too early for her liking, but she knew she had to be back in London early to get this over with. Okay, that made it seem like she didn't want to do this; she did, but this was a lot of responsibility. A lot more than she needed, anyway. While she had been living in Rome, she was still involved with the Council. It seemed her job of being a counselor at Sunnydale High had gotten around, so her phone was always ringing from slayers around the world who needed help with various things. Not to mention any meetings with the board and any apocalypses that came their way. And now she was going to train four slayers in any way she saw fit. Talk about scary, four mini-Buffy's running around quipping at demons. But this was necessary, she knew that. One of these days something was going to get that killing blow and who would be left to take her place? There were many slayers who would love to take the spot, Kennedy, she knew for certain, but many slayers actually weren't cut out for what she and the other Scoobies did.

"We'll be landing soon," Andrew spoke. Buffy wondered just what he did in the morning to always be so awake and alert. It was really annoying when she was trying to be sleepy and grouchy. "And this suit is all itchy."

The last sentence was accompanied by him twitching in his suit, trying to find a comfortable spot. "No one said to start wearing suits, especially on plane rides."

"If I want to be respected as a Watcher, a suit is necessary," he nodded. And Buffy wouldn't have laughed if he didn't twitch a second time. "I'll change when we get back."

"Jeans, please?" Buffy asked. "If only to make the girls more comfortable. Had Giles been all jeans wearing when I first met him, I wouldn't have acted the way I did."

"You mean you wouldn't have blown up at him?" Andrew smiled.

"It wasn't a total blow up!" she defended herself, though she knew Andrew was right. And that needed to stop happening, Andrew being right. He didn't start actually being right until after their relationship was known and she was not happy about that. She was supposed to be the correct one.

Patting her hand, Andrew nodded, "As long as you believe that."

"You've been talking to Xander, haven't you?" she glared, snatching her hand away. She was going to kill her best friend.

"Oh look, we're landing!" Andrew ended the conversation. There was no way he was going to continue it, not if he wanted to live.

"Here we are, dreary London," Buffy sighed. But they both knew she loved it, now at least. When she had first come with the Scoobies to rebuilt, she was not a fan. It rained. A lot. But over time, and several shopping trips, her love of the city grew.

--------------------------------

After landing and exiting the jet, a car was waiting for them at the bottom of the steps. A perk of running the Watcher's Council was getting to use the company jet and car, which was driven by someone that wasn't yourself.

"Let's run through this one more time," Andrew said once the car started moving. He opened up his messenger bag and pulled several folders out. "We need to know as much as we can."

Groaning, Buffy snatched the folders from Andrew's hands and attempted to stuff them between her seat and the empty one next to her, "You're worse than Giles."

Reaching forward, Andrew took the folders and opened the first one. "If we don't do this we're gonna have another incident of you not knowing a slayer's name."

Silence.

"Evil Watcher."

"Stubborn slayer."

Who would have thought she would have been having this big a connection with Andrew in just a few months, or even, at all?

"First slayer, Carolin Fisher," Andrew spoke, holding up her picture. Blonde hair, blue eyes, the picture of innocence, really. Of course, she was a slayer so that whole innocent looking thing was probably just a trick made by the Powers That Be.

"Stationed with the Eastern European group," Buffy nodded. Carolin was easy, they just fought alongside her. "She's twenty, from Michigan, doesn't have any childhood trauma that I should be worried about and loves slaying. A little too much, but she's not bordering crazy. She also has a Britney Spears obsession that she doesn't think anyone knows about."

"Naïve slayer," Andrew shook his head before pulling out another picture. This slayer was a red head, darker than Willow's, but still unmistakably red.

"Ali Steele, nineteen, from Florida. She lost both her parents in a hurricane when she was younger and was taken in by her aunt and uncle. From what her teachers could tell, she has an aversion to water because of this. We'll have to work on that. She did manage to rescue a few captured Watcher's by herself."

"Could always use a stealthy slayer," Andrew interjected.

A brunette with brown eyes and a sad look on her face that made Buffy cringe. It made her cringed because she was the reason this slayer looked sad. "Adrienne Ambler, seventeen."

Her being seventeen wasn't the problem. It was the fact that Adrienne was twelve when she was called during Willow's spell that was. Adrienne was one of the youngest slayers when they start bringing them to the new Council and no matter how good she was, Buffy still hated that she had gotten her into this mess.

"Born and raised in Paris. After a bully messed with her one too many times, she convinced her parents to put her in self-defense classes. Because of her potential-ness, she kicked some serious butt. Only made sense that she'd be great once she was called. She speaks English and French fluently and she's working on her Spanish."

"Only thing working against her is her age, but that's what the fake ID's are for," Andrew waved the matter off.

"You rebel, you," Buffy smiled. "Already corrupting the slayers. Next up is Janelle Hardy, twenty-two. She's from Canada. Her mother teaches history, and luckily, Janelle takes after her. She's way good at researching."

"Last but not least," Andrew pulled out the last picture of dark skinned girl.

"Lisa Burns, one of the very few slayers who can cast some magic without burning something down," Buffy sighed. While she never really practiced magic, she had hoped that some of the slayers would, under careful guidance, of course, but it seemed only a few percent were actually capable of doing spells with the actual intended outcome not being destruction of something. "She's from Chicago and she's twenty like Carolin."

"And those are the best pick of the litter," Andrew told her as he put the papers away. "They should already have arrived and been told to wait for us."

"I don't even know where to begin."

"I told you we should have made a lesson plan," Andrew said, before he stuck his tongue out at her, but quickly put it back in his mouth when Buffy's arm moved as if to grab it.

"I don't want to come off as this strict teacher," she sighed. "I want us to be friends and someone who offers advice, not Synder."

They both groaned at the memory of their deceased formed Principal.

"Even he didn't deserve to suffer that horrid fate."

"That's debatable," Buffy disagreed. The cops shot at her because of him!

--------------------------------

"You've met her, like in person, one on one?"

Nodding, Carolin smiled, "Yea, she's really cool. Whatever rumors you've heard probably aren't true. She's not some hardass or anything."

"She couldn't be worse than Faith," Ali sighed. "Not that she was bad or anything, but if slayers expected to be coddled, Faith wasn't who you wanted to train with."

"You trained with Faith?"

While Buffy and Andrew were making their car ride to the Council, the five select slayers were waiting in one of the many meeting rooms the Council had. Having been the first time the five had met in person, the conversation had been very sparse, until the subject of Buffy came up.

Turning to Lisa, Ali shrugged. "Not so much as trained as got my ass handed to me. But that's usually the outcome when you go against her. But I knew going in that I was going to lose. A bunch of the girls think that because she's a teacher, she'll go easy or let you get some free shots it. Definitely didn't get any of those."

"How do you think we'll be separated?" Carolin asked. "I mean, we were chosen because we're great slayers, but we can't all have the same strengths, right?"

"I'm good with magic," Lisa answered, looking at the slayer next to her, Janelle.

"Researching is my specialty, I guess," she shrugged.

"They say I'm stealthy," Ali spoke next, but she was still wondering just why she was chosen. She choked whenever she got near large amounts of water, so why take her?

"I'm not really sure why me," Carolin went next. "I mean, I bugged her for a spot on this team, but I couldn't get in on just that."

"You're a good leader," Adrienne finally spoke. "The demons in your territory aren't easy to take down. Oh, and I'm here because I'm good with languages. I'm trying to learn more."

"You're all also here because of your sense of fashion," Buffy interrupted as she walked into the room. "And we will be sharing clothes sometime."

--------------------------------

_And now you've got a little more info on the five slayers. More personality development to come, of course, as well some patrolling and apocalypse averting! But, uh, don't get too attached to them. Some might not make it._

_Reviews are like candy!_


	9. Gross How Do We Kill It?

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

--------------------------------

"I wasn't—I wasn't strong. I wasn't strong enough."

It was her mantra; it kept her rooted to her spot on the wet warehouse floor. Eyes wide and arms wrapped around her drawn together legs, she rocked back and forth, staring at the lifeless body in front of her. It was the body of a fellow slayer, Lisa. Lisa, from Chicago and knew magic. Lisa, who had a family she'd never see again.

Lisa, a slayer that Ali let get killed because of her weakness.

"Ali?"

She was vaguely aware of someone speaking her name. She wanted to speak out, but the words wouldn't seem to come. Her throat tightened, but she managed to say something.

"I wasn't strong enough."

"Ali!"

The voice came back, louder, sharper and she looked up, frightened at who she saw. It was Buffy, standing before her, before Lisa's dead body, the scythe held loosely in her right hand.

"It was my fault," she spoke again, and looked away, waiting for what was to come. She was weak and slayers weren't supposed to be weak. Those that there, well, she knew the stories. They were either depowered or met the business end of the scythe. But what she had done was too big for her to be just let go. She was going to die and it was only fitting that it be done by Buffy.

Eyes clinched shut, she waited for the blow. But it never came. Instead, she heard the scythe being placed on the floor beside her and felt arms encircle her.

"It wasn't your fault," Buffy whispered in her ear.

"I know it was," she sobbed into Buffy's shoulder.

"No, it was mine."

That stopped Ali cold. Here she was, drowning in her self-pity and anguish and the head slayer is taking the blame for her mistake. HER mistake.

--------------------------------

_Hours Earlier_

After another round of introductions with Buffy and Andrew included, business had been started. While they were all excited to be chosen, Buffy made sure to clear up any ideas about this being easy. They were being trained to maybe take over her position one day, which meant, on the slaying side of things, they all needed to be stronger, both physically and mentally. And they needed to know that by taking this offer, they just agreed to being an even bigger target by demons than before.

"Alright, tell me what you've got?"

First order of business? Researching a demon that seemed to be killing the homeless people living in a warehouse.

"Well, the coroner's report said the people were killed by drowning, but the amount of water in there couldn't fill a pool," Janelle answered. She may not have been up to Watcher standard when it came to rattling off information about demons, but she knew her way around a computer database and very old, dusty books. "There is a demon that wouldn't need that much water."

Picking up the book that Janelle slid across the table, Buffy scanned the pages.

"So we've got a water demon that kills from the inside," Buffy spoke as she placed the book back down. "Gross. How do we kill it?"

"Its body is made of water," Carolin spoke. "Can we electrocute it, but without us getting fried, too?"

"I know a spell to call for lightning, but I'd need someone watching my back," Lisa stepped up. "I'd have to focus completely on the spell."

"But you can do it?" Andrew asked. This wasn't the time for doubts, the demon had to be slayed, and soon.

"Yes," she replied, no hesitation.

"We won't need everyone for this one," Buffy took over again. "Lisa will perform the spell, who wants to guard her?"

"I'll do it," Adrienne nodded.

"Me too," Ali spoke. No time like the present to get over water phobias, she thought to herself. She could do this.

"Alright, you three go get yourselves ready, we'll leave when the sun sets. The rest of you, you've got the night off."

"We get nights off now?" this came from Janelle.

"Of course, didn't you know, the higher you get in rank here, the more chances you have to slack off from work?" Buffy laughed. "But you're always on call, of course."

--------------------------------

"That use to be us, you know?" Carolin spoke, looking down. Both she and Janelle had decided to just explore the Council right after the others had left. Janelle had never been before, being from Canada, she had chosen to be sent to the Cleveland Council branch for training. And Carolin, having chosen to study in London, had no problem showing Janelle around.

Standing a floor above one of the many gyms housed within its walls, both Carolin and Janelle were able to see everything. The slayers were standing in the middle, being lead through a drill by a senior slayer while the Watchers stood off to the side, taking note of their own slayers.

"I do not miss it," Janelle shook her head.

"Really?" Carolin turned to the older slayer. "Maybe not the constant drills and stuff, but the closeness with the other slayers?"

"I guess," Janelle sighed, "But we're all in different places now, if the people I left with are still alive."

"Well when you put it like that…," Carolin agreed.

Shaking away the potentially bad memories, Janelle continued, "Sorry for being all depresso-girl. I just can't help but wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't been called."

"I get it, I do, but I love being a slayer," Carolin smiled. "It's amazing and now we've been chosen to take Buffy's place. It's what every slayer wants, not counting those who want Faith's place."

"We do kick more ass than the others, don't we?" Janelle smirked.

"We're also hotter," Carolin added.

"How do you think they're doing?" Janelle asked after sobering up.

"It's just the one demon," Carolin shrugged, "Shouldn't take too much longer, right?"

--------------------------------

Was it Tuesday? It had to have been, or at least, it had better be because there was no way she was this unlucky. Ducking under a fist, Buffy came up and caught the vampire with her right foot. Not wanting to give her enough time to gain her balance back, Buffy did the 360 turn, slashing at the female vampire's neck with the scythe.

"Everything okay, Andrew?" She had lost him a while ago when the vampires attacked, but had faith that he was alright.

"Peachy!" was his response as he dusted another vampire.

Goody, her speech was rubbing off on him and he was holding his own against the vampires. She couldn't have been more proud. Of course, that feeling last all of five more seconds before yet another vampire appeared and tackled her. This was supposed to be a somewhat simple mission. They found the warehouse, managed to sneak in, but were suddenly attacked. It seemed that the water demon had been recruiting.

Not wanting to get too off schedule, Buffy told Ali and Lisa to go on ahead, while she, Adrienne and Andrew handled the vampires. So far, they were going alright, although Buffy would have preferred to be with her other two slayers.

"Let's wrap this--"

"Ahhhhhhhh!" She was interrupted by a loud scream coming from deeper inside the warehouse and knew it was one of her slayers.

"Buffy, go, we've got this!" Adrienne yelled from her own position.

Nodding, she took off, slashing at any stray demon near her.

--------------------------------

"How are you doing on that spell?" Ali yelled as she continued to keep the water demon's attention off of Lisa. All it took was her running around and shouting at it to keep it away from her sister slayer.

"Almost there!" Lisa yelled back, gathering her magic.

This was good, Ali told herself. So far, the demon had thrown water at her, but she dodged all its attacks and her fear was being faced. Just a few more minutes and it'd be toast. What she hadn't realized was the demon's plan as the warehouse floor was now covered with water in most spots.

Moving forward to dodge another attack, she found herself contained as a wall of water was created around her, reaching the ceiling. Thoughts of her past came back almost immediately, the hurricane that took her parents. Every single second, she remembered it. The noise, the screams, hers and her parents, as they were taken away from her and she was left behind. Her struggles to stay in her spot and wait for the hurricane to subside.

She was vaguely aware of a large booming sound and then a scream. A scream she knew did not belong to the demon, but to Lisa. The water wall came down and Ali fell with it, seeing Lisa's dead body and the spot where the water was before he was killed.

"No," she whispered as she crawled to Lisa's body, not trusting her legs to walk.

--------------------------------

She could feel the magic in the air, knowing that the demon was the dead, but she couldn't feel Lisa anymore. There was only one reason she could think of for that happening. Pushing herself even more, Buffy sped along to the next room and stopped short at the scene.

"I wasn't—I wasn't strong. I wasn't strong enough."

No.

Taking everything in, it only took Buffy another second before she realized this wasn't Ali's fault. She knew of her fear of water, but she didn't question her ability to handle this demon. Walking forward, she called Ali's name out and once she finally got her attention, she put her scythe down and pulled the younger slayer into her arms

"It wasn't your fault."

"I know it was."

"No, it was mine."

--------------------------------


	10. But It's Necessary

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

* * *

"What do you think they're going to do about her?"

"A slayer was killed because of it; I don't think they're going to go easy on her."

"I heard the last time a slayer failed at something like this, she was depowered and had her memory wiped before she was dumped back with her family."

Rolling her eyes, Adrienne gave a sour look to Carolin, "Maybe mentioning that they weren't going to go easy on her wasn't the best thing to say."

Realizing her mistake, Carolin frowned and turned to Janelle, "They're not going to depower her, or kill her and what you heard was not real. I may not know Buffy as well as most, but everyone knows she hates memory spells and killing humans."

Sighing, Janelle sighed, "I guess. I just wished I knew what they were talking about."

"It'll be fine," Adrienne reassured Janelle. The three slayers were sitting outside of Buffy's office, staring at the closed door, more than once wishing that a spell wasn't placed on the door to prevent them from listening in. All Carolin and Janelle knew was that Adrienne, Ali, Buffy and Andrew returned walking, while Lisa returned in a body bag. After telling the others to sit, Andrew, Buffy and Ali locked themselves in Buffy's office while Carolin and Janelle dragged the information out of Adrienne.

"What do you think Buffy _will _do?" Janelle asked.

"Accidents happen," Carolin answered. "Buffy knows that. She'll be upset, but she's not going to lock Ali up and throw away the key. She'll help her through this, but I don't know if Ali is still going to be on the team."

"Do we want her to stay, though?" Janelle asked. And off Carolin and Adrienne's look, she continued, "I'm not saying I hate her or blame her for Lisa's death; I don't know the whole story. But what if whatever help she needs isn't enough? Will this happen again? We're training to be the best of the best here."

"She'll get past this," was all Carolin could say before Buffy's door opened and Andrew stuck his head out.

"If you would come in, please."

Looking at one another, the three slayers stood and crossed the threshold to Buffy's office. Never having seen the inside, the three slayers were a bit disappointed in what they saw, though they hid it well. It looked like a regular office, one a principal of a high school would have, except for a weapon or two placed around the room. The three sat in their seats, next to a sullen looking Lisa who kept her head held high.

"The three of you may not have known this, but Ali has a fear of water," Buffy started once Andrew took his place beside her. "The specifics of how this fear came about aren't my story to tell, but I would like to ask you don't blame her for what happened. If anything, you should blame me."

"But--"

Whatever Janelle had to stay was stopped by Buffy's raised hand. "I knew about this fear and I let her go into the fight without making sure she was really prepared. It was a bad decision on my part, but we've come up with a solution."

"I've always hated the idea of speaking to a therapist," Ali finally spoke, her voice soft. "Always thought I could overcome this myself, but the only to keep this spot here is if I speak to someone and I will."

"She'll still train with you and do suitable missions," Andrew continued. "And when the time comes, she'll kick some water demon butt."

This elicited a snort with laughter from Carolin, which caused Adrienne to giggle. Before the laughing could spread, Buffy started speaking again.

"We've contacted Lisa's parents. Her body is being flown back to Chicago as they wish to bury her instead of us. Unfortunately, they do not wish us to attend. They weren't too keen on her knowing magic and finding out she was a slayer was too much for them."

"If you wish to pay your respects, you know where she'll be before she leaves," Andrew spoke. "Starting tomorrow, class begins."

"Class?" Carolin asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"We've never done this before," Buffy shrugged. "We don't know where to begin when it comes to taking on students. It was suggested that we get you started on demon research and other Watcher-y like duties while simultaneously making sure you get your slayer limits pushed as far as we can go."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Carolin glared while both Buffy and Andrew answered yes and smiled at one another.

"But it's necessary," Ali defended. She, most of all, knew why Buffy was going to be pushing them. A leading slayer needed to be well rounded in all areas of slaying, not just the fighting aspect.

"Andrew will be putting together a list of books for you to start looking over," Buffy stood as she spoke.

"And what will you be doing?" Adrienne asked.

"I'll also be watching over what you do, except far away, preferably on a beach somewhere," Buffy smiled as she headed for the door.

* * *

_Short? Yes. But it was chapter that needed to be done. Now, we can move on to my more funny things, like Andrew teaching slayers and Buffy pretending to teach!_


	11. Hit First, Recruit Later

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

Ali, Adrienne, Janelle, Carolin

* * *

'_Crap,' _Janelle thought as she raced through the halls. The first day of their classes and she was running late! While she was now confident the rumors of Buffy depowering slayers were, in fact, just a rumor, she didn't want to make her think badly of her due to poor attendance. Fortunately, the halls weren't busy yet and those that were in her way quickly side-stepped her frenzied run.

'_Damn non-functioning alarm clock!'_

Kicking the door open, careful to mind her strength, Janelle walked in just as Andrew was passing out textbooks. The classroom wasn't very different from a room at a University and was equipped with standard desks, chairs, a white board and a hanging projector. There were even inspirational pictures hanging up, which seemed a bit weird since the Scoobies didn't seem the type do something like that. Of course, how much did she actually know versus all the rumors and gossip about them?

"Sorry I'm late!"

"Nice of you to join us," Andrew reprimanded. Somewhere along the way, he grew into Watcherhood and not backing down from slayers. Well, most slayers. He learned the hard way to not get demanding with Faith.

"My alarm didn't go off," she sighed as she walked forward and found her desk. There were about 20 desks in the classroom, though five were crowded around Andrew. Didn't take a genius to figure out where she was supposed to sit. Falling in her seat, she nodded at her fellow slayers and waved hello at Buffy who was sitting at the front of the room. She didn't seem upset with her tardiness as she swung her legs back and forth and with a small smile on her face. Of course, that's what made slayers dangerous; you didn't know you were in trouble until you dead.

She also could have also been over thinking this whole situation entirely and Buffy didn't really care as this was their first classroom lesson day.

"You smashed it, didn't you?" Buffy smirked before hopping off the desk.

Grimacing, Janelle nodded, "It was just irritating me so much. Just wanted to sleep for a little bit longer."

"We'll deal with alarm clocks later," Buffy spoke. Crossing her arms, she stood in front of her four slayers, "the books you've been given are not available to the other slayers, not yet anyway. We want to see how you do with them before we start mass producing."

"The first one is your standard Demons 101," Andrew took over as the slayers started looking through them.

"Really..?" Carolin's eyebrow rose, giving Andrew an incredulous look. "Demons 101… Who named this crap?"

No one noticed Buffy's eye twitch, though Andrew didn't have to look to notice she was not amused, which explained his hurrying in discussing the books.

"It covers your basic, run of the mill demons; how to identify, nesting habits, feeding habits, how to kill, and friendlies versus non-friendlies. More in-depth than ones you're used to, also added notes from those who've personally dealt with them."

"It's like the DSM, then?" Adrienne asked.

Nodding her agreement, Ali spoke, "Manual of basic demons; got it."

"Next up you'll find your book, Apocalypse: It's Not Just a One Demon Motive," Andrew explained. "Here you'll find your higher level demons, the trickier ones that command legions of lower level demons and whose goals always involve bringing on some apocalypse or another."

"This title is the epitome of class," Carolin interjected as she flipped through her book, "We'll be dealing with these a lot, right?"

This time noticing Buffy's twitchy eye, Andrew cleared his throat as he answered, "Yes, the training you'll be receiving will focus on pushing your limits where you'll at a suitable level to take on these demons by yourself, rather than in a group, should the need arise. You'll become champions in your own right, if you want to think about it like that."

And he knew they would think about that. Virtually all the slayers the Scoobies had encountered idolized Buffy and Faith and dreamt of being _that _kind of slayer. While, Buffy wasn't looking to take on slayers that were thirsty for championhood, it was impossible to find any that applied that didn't want that.

Apparently, Andrew had not been the only one to notice Buffy quietly twitching as Janelle was trying to shut Carolin up by clearing her throat.

"Who comes up with these names, by the way?"

Too bad it wasn't working.

"And lastly, this book is just something we felt all slayers needed. While this job is serious and tough, we can't forget why we fight and to not take certain aspects of life so serious. So without further adieu, I give you, Why We Quip; a book full of random knowledge related to slaying."

It was at this point that Carolin finally pieced things together. The old Watchers and some of the newer ones even weren't big on making small talk with demons during their was all Buffy, which meant…

"Ruh roh, you thought of these titles, didn't you, Buffy?" Carolin finally looked at her mentor and gave a nervous chuckle as Buffy nodded once. "I'll just, uh, go run some laps around the campus, yes?"

The silence was all she needed as she stood and started jogging from the room.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, we can begin our first lesson," Buffy spoke, shaking her head.

"Impetuous youth," Andrew muttered, momentarily forgetting that everyone could hear him. Slayer hearing, hello?

* * *

"You've got your thinking face on."

"It's not really a thinking face, more of a questioning face," Andrew nodded. "…There should be a question mark above my head."

"Fine, you've got your questioning face on, what are you questioning?" Buffy asked.

It was later that day and the slayers in training were exhausted. After getting their "light" reading material, which consisted of at least 10 books on demons, slayerhood, and prophecies, they were put to work. Buffy wanted to them to know how much work they were going to be doing, so their first official training session was to fend themselves off against a group of slayers. Each slayer fought against a group of 3 slayers, ranging in skill from relatively new to the Council and experienced ones. Buffy didn't expect them to win, and she told them as much. She was looking at strengths and weaknesses and once again, drilling into their skulls just how much work they were going to be doing for the rest of their lives. It didn't take a genius to see there were all walking bruises after the fights. And of course, while the slayers were resting and letting slayer healing take control, Buffy and Andrew were sitting in her office

"This method of training seems off. I mean, we train the regular slayers like this and it works. They all take classes, and then we put them in groups based on similar skill. But these slayers are different; different skills."

Agreeing, Buffy leaned back in her chair, "What do you we should change? And let's stick to it; we can't keep changing the curriculum. We can't have the whole Council thinking we're winging this."

"We've got a slayer who is potentially excellent with research, a slayer who can be stealthy with proper training. A slayer who is learning her third language, and has been taking martial arts since she was kid, and a slayer who desperately wants to lead. Why not specialize first and then have them train one another?"

The idea was nice, full of merit even. "So, give Janelle more research training and have her teach the others? And the same goes for the others?"

"Exactly, my slayer sister! Adrienne can get a bit of both ancient language studying and research training, while Ali learns the ins and outs of mastering stealth," Andrew nodded, plans already forming.

"And what about Carolin? Learning to lead is kinda big with the generalness."

"And who better to learn to lead from other than the leader herself?" Andrew smirked.

Not liking where this was going, Buffy opted for deflecting, "I don't think Giles would appreciate being referred to as a woman."

"……"

"Fine," Buffy groaned. "She can follow me around and learn Buffy 101."

"Good, and no pawning off the paperwork you don't want to do!"

"You know, months ago you would have been scared of me," Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't like this."

"It's just something you have to accept," Andrew nodded. Standing from his chair, he pulled out a teleportation potion.

"Where are you going?" Buffy asked, eyes zeroed in on the potion, "It better not be somewhere in the Council, or even this country! Willow will be very angry. AT ME!"

"This is a very important mission that Giles has given me," Andrew nodded. "I'm making contact with other likeminded individuals who fight against the darkness."

She was ready to jump in, upset that she wasn't told about this, but Andrew interrupted her and babbled at light speed, "And I know you have no idea what I'm talking about because Giles didn't want you to know because you slayers have a hit first, recruit later attitude."

She was too shocked to say anything that Andrew threw the potion own and teleported out, leaving behind a puff of smoke.

"I do not hit first!" she finally screamed.

* * *

_No, this is not turning into a crossover, I like doing this non-cross too much! But, that doesn't mean I won't create a whole universe from this that features a cross._

_Oh, and I'm not dead._


	12. A Missions For A Slayers!

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

Ali, Adrienne, Janelle, Carolin

"I wonder what mission she's on that she didn't bring us."

Not even looking up from her current assignment, Ali responded, "You know she's probably off shopping, right?"

Rolling her eyes, Carolin nodded, "Duh. I wonder why _we _couldn't go shopping with her. We all get paid."

"We aren't here to shop," Ali snorted, "Well, we do have free range to do whatever outside of training, but we should finish this research first."

"Yea, yea," Carolin sighed. She was currently on her second book of research and while it was interesting to learn, she wanted to be on the front lines. But she knew it was necessary that she and others be well rounded, she even more so. She was following behind Buffy more intensely now.

In the two weeks since Buffy and Andrew made up their mind on how to train the four younger slayers, they were immediately put to work. Janelle had been given the responsibility of helping Ali, Adrienne and Carolin a crash course in researching since she had the most experience with it. At the moment, they were researching plans of a demonic uprising that was due to happen in Cleveland. Granted, the slayers in Cleveland were doing the same, it was still nice practical research for them. While Ali and Carolin were doing the English books, Adrienne was doing any translation she could.

"She should be back soon, she wanted to assess my stealth capabilities," Ali spoke after a while. "I'm getting better in the practice room."

And that was a major understatement. The others had been at her practice sessions and they all agreed, Ali was lethal on her 'missions'. Her first mission proved it. The task was to simply take out any of the practice targets in a set amount of time and rescue a waiting victim. The practice dummies, enchanted to move, were quickly disposed of as Ali dropped from her hiding spot and the victim was brought to safety. But it was because of their first mission with the water demon that had her second guessing her abilities.

"You know you're a beast, Al," Carolin reassured her. "My second in command in Eastern Europe was crazy good at this and you could definitely be on par with her, especially with the training Buffy is letting you do."

"Carolin is right," Adrienne cut in. "We seem to be getting the best training offered and it is definitely benefitting you and your abilities."

"Thanks, you guys," she smiled. Inwardly, she was jumping for joy, of course. She had been practicing hard to be the best she could be, especially after…

Her thoughts were fortunately interrupted as Janelle walked in the door, arms full of books and with a grave look on her face.

"Janelle?" Adrienne asked.

"A summoning artifact was just stolen from a lower level witch coven by demons of an unknown species and they're holed up in some run down factory. I know, why always a factory or warehouse, you ask," she explained as she dumped the books on the table before them all. "Oh, and to make matters worse, the call for help came in for Buffy and her team to handle."

"And Buffy isn't answering her phone, I take it?" Carolin asked.

"Got it in one," Janelle answered, plopping down in a chair. "But we're still her team, and we have to answer the call. Or we risk looking weak with our allies and within the Council itself with the other slayers."

"What do we do?" Ali asked, looking around.

'_This is what I've been waiting for,' _Carolin thought to herself. While Janelle had taken to researching and helping the others and Adrienne got her fair share of research and ancient languages and Ali got her stealth lessons, she trained alongside Buffy; learning to be well-rounded as head slayer, even the administrative side of things. She found that side a bit boring, but she could put up with it if it meant leading other slayers.

"We're going to kick some demon ass," Carolin answered, "Duh. We don't know much, but we have a location. Ali, you up for really applying those lessons?"

"Yes," she spoke, no hesitation. People were counting on her, and she wasn't going to let them down. "I'll get a potion to take me there and back. See if I can get a description of the demons and the location of them and the artifact."

"Good, we'll be on standby in case you get in trouble. And let the team patrolling closest to the area know you'll be there in case this threat is too big for just us."

"These books are demon identification books and books on the artifact, the amulet of Araic; its capabilities and such," Janelle cut in.

"We can start on that," Carolin nodded. "Let's get to work. And hopefully Buffy will show up just in case this blows up in our faces."

Rolling her eyes, Janelle picked up the closest book, "Try not to jinx us. There is a whole chapter on Murphy's Law in one of the books Andrew gave us."

"…Must have skipped it. Whoops."

'_The factory would be right by water. Just my luck.'_

After procuring a teleporting potion, and ensuring she was using it for good reason, Ali appeared on the roof of the factory. And of course, the factory happened to be overlooking a river.

'_Just ignore it. The demons aren't in the water.'_

See the door that would lead her inside, she silently made her way over and pulled the door back, thanking whoever was listening that it didn't make a sound. The stairway was narrow, but in good condition, as she crept down, listening as intently as she could. She could see the stairs ended at a doorway without a door.

'_Fantastic.'_

She stilled when she heard a growling noise, several of them, in fact. Staying cloaked in the darkness of the stairway, Ali's eyes took a description of the creatures that passed her.

'_Claws on right hand, normal looking left hand, but both red in color.'_

'_Ew, blisters all over their body. Might have some defensive purpose.'_

'_Green heads.'_

She had never seen this kind of demon before, but they should be able to find it in the database or the books. Stepping out of the stairway, she saw the demons disappear down the hall. Opting to not have to fight, she went in the other direction. If she knew demons, and she should hope by now she did, what she was looking for should be in a guarded room.

'_Bingo.'_

After a few twist and turns, which she remembered to memorize, she found two more of the same demons standing guard outside of a steel door. There was no way to see inside and she doubt she could ask the demons to let her. That would go over well. They'd be going in blind after they disposed of the demons, but there was no other choice.

'_Almost done. Just gotta get a final count of how many demons are really here.'_

Maybe the others were right, she was good at this.

"Bears?"

"That's the name of their breed, yes," Janelle chuckled.

"I'm sure the bear community in this dimension would not be happy with the Bear community in the other dimension," Carolin nodded.

After Ali teleported back and gave her description of the twelve demons that were guarding the amulet, they set to work. While she was gone, the others had discovered that Araic amulet summoned a powerful demon - "As always," Janelle had announced – but they didn't know which would be coming through.

"Alright, so we've got Bear demons running around with claws on one hand that can shred you and blisters that, which is gross to even think about, swell and burst all over us," Carolin grimaced.

"If it helps, they don't burn you or are contagious. They just paralyze you and then they shred you," Adrienne nodded, a little too cheerful about that fact.

"I guess that's nice to know," Ali spoke. "Still gross."

"We feel ready for this?" Carolin asked, "Cause we don't have a choice and not a lot of preparation."

"Yes, however could this mission succeed without you pumping yourself up with some Britney Spears that you think we don't know about," Janelle smirked..

Looking at Ali and Adrienne's smirking faces, as well, Carolin glared and stormed from the room, announcing, "I hate all of you, be ready to go in five minutes. Skanks."

She could at least listen to one song before they left.

The mission had gone surprisingly well. They had all teleported to the roof together and set up their positions. They made their way in, Ali leading them and took three of the demons that passed by the doorway. They worked silently and completely in sync with one another.

"Nine more to go. Adrienne and I will take care of the demons roaming. Ali and Janelle, go find that door and get the amulet. Keep those com's on," Carolin ordered.

"Got it, boss," Janelle smirked.

Carolin could get used to that, even if it was a joke.

"Those were surprisingly weak demons," Janelle commented. "They didn't even get to use those blisters on us."

"Let's just get that amulet," Ali spoke as she gripped the door and pulled. What she found inside stopped her and Janelle in their tracks. She couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her. And judging from the noise behind her, Janelle couldn't hold back either.

"We just killed five demons by ourselves and you two are laughing!" Carolin practically yelled down the corridor as she and Adrienne walked toward Ali and Janelle. "What so funny?"

Peering inside the room, she too started laughing at the scene, with Adrienne giggling beside her.

There in front of them was not the amulet of Araic, but Buffy and Andrew, both face down getting massages. "It's about time you four showed up."

"We were wondering if you were gonna make it past those Bear demons, which were glamours by the way," Andrew spoke. "A bit harder, Francesca, being a Watcher is hell on the shoulders."

"This was a test?" Ali asked, walking into the room.

"Yup," Buffy answered, head still face down. Just because she was impressed did not mean she was stopping the massage. She needed kinks worked out. "Well done on the stealthy entrance, by the way, when you were scouting."

"A+ mission for A+ slayers!" Andrew complimented. "Now, time for your next mission, a real one."

Finally lifting her head, Buffy glanced at her team, "Pack your bags; we're going back to the States."

"Where to?"

"There's a slayer that needs a bit of help and the Cleveland Council is spread a bit thin," Andrew took over. "We have some business to take care of over there anyway. And we're going to Oakland County, Mi—"

"Michigan?" Carolin asked. "Oakland County, Michigan, as in where I'm from?"

"Smart cookie, you are."


	13. Who Wants Tacos?

**Wells-Summers**

**Disclaimer:** Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon

**Spoilers:** Post "Chosen"

Ali, Adrienne, Janelle, Carolin

"I'm just saying, there's a Taco Bell down the street," Carolin argued, "We could run there, get some tacos and be back before any of these vampires rise. Or better yet, teleport with the potion no one knows I stole."

"We should stay here," Adrienne shook her head. "And besides, I have never actually had Taco Bell. Now is not the time for experimenting."

Grabbing her chest, Carolin back away from the younger slayer in shock, "You've never had—We have to fix this! Now!"

"Carolin!" Adrienne snapped. "Vampires first, questionable beef later."

"Fine," Carolin whined as she sat on a tombstone. She didn't think whoever this "Goldman" was would mind. He was quite dead. "I'm just happy to be home and if I can't see my parents, I wanna do other stuff."

"We get that, but the mission comes first," Adrienne reminded as a hand finally popped up out of a grave, followed by two more from neighboring graves. "Showtime."

"Finally," Carolin sighed. "Come on, Mister Horowitz, we don't have all night."

The four slayers had been split into two groups; Carolin and Adrienne had been assigned to patrol the Clover Hill Park, a Jewish cemetery in the city of Birmingham, while Ali and Janelle were in Beverly Hills, at the Acacia Park Cemetary. There had been a lot of deaths lately, too many for the Metro Detroit Slayer house to keep up with.

"Got him," Adrienne nodded as she staked Mister Horowitz before he could even step out of his grave. "Rosenbaum is making a run for it!"

"Over my toned ass!" Carolin yelled as she ran after the newly risen vampire, confident that Adrienne could handle the last vamp. Rosenbaum was quick as he made his way for the gate, the gate that would put him on Fourteen Mile Road. If he managed to escape to the neighborhood across the street, tracking him would be difficult. "Not happening."

Gripping the stake, Carolin positioned her arm and let the state fly. She let out a very unslayer-like whoop when it struck the vampire in the back, hitting his heart. The vampire was dust before he reached the tall gate. The victory was cut short as her phone rang.

"Our vamps are dusted," Janelle's voice spoke.

"Same here," Carolin answered, seeing Adrienne jog over to her.

"We'll head back after getting food. Ali sees a Taco Bell."

Knowing full well Adrienne could hear the conversation; Carolin gave her a pleased look, knowing she had won. If the others were going, albeit to a different location, they'd be going as well.

"We're doing the same, see you back at the house."

"So how far is this place," Adrienne rolled her eyes. She had lost the battle, though to be honest, she wanted to try it. At least once.

"Not far," Carolin spoke, treating the situation like it was life and death. "We're at 14 and Coolidge, Taco Bell is 14 and Crooks. Like, a mile away!"

"This definitely has to be one of the better slayer houses," Buffy commented. The house they had chosen has two kitchens. TWO KITCHENS. And numerous bathrooms. They pretty much had to have it, in Buffy's opinion. Five slayers living under roof and they didn't all have to share a refrigerator? Perfect. Oh, and according to Xander the location was good because of its place in a quiet neighborhood and the house had a natural defense with it being located on a dead end street and surrounded by trees. Buffy was really just happy about the two kitchens.

"You aren't getting a Mercedes-Benz," Andrew reminded. Again.

And did she mention that a Benz dealership was located right outside one of the entrances to the neighborhood. No? Well there was. And she wanted one. Or a few. They were in a very affluent part of town. It only made sense to have one to fit in, right?

Pouting, Buffy turned back to her map of Oakland County. Sixty-two cities, townships and villages were in the county alone, not to mention two of the worst cities for crime on both ends, Flint to the north in Genesee County and Detroit to the south in Wayne County. The five slayers had their work cut out for them that was for sure. Fortunately, the counties had a simple road system that made making patrols simple. The mile road system had been a blessing in determining which cemeteries to send the girls to, as most sites are located right on the street.

But unfortunately, the mile road system essentially went from 0 to 50 mile. Five slayers weren't going to cut it, especially with the recent uprisings. More and more vampires were being made. Not to mention a slight influx of various other demons. That was why Buffy and Andrew and their team were there. But they couldn't stay for long. They would need to pull others in, make another house somewhere.

"How about two additional, smaller teams?" Buffy asked. "A team of three outside Flint to patrol there and a team in Detroit?"

"You might be on to something Slayer Prime," Andrew gave a slight nod, most of his concentration on preparing dinner. "Flint isn't as a big as isn't close to the rest of the cities the current team patrols. And Detroit, while closer, should have its own protectors."

Andrew had a habit of forgetting to NOT refer to his sister by those ridiculous nicknames when his mind was elsewhere, such as cooking, but she let it slide and continued with her idea. "Exactly, set up a team of three in each of those locations, and keep the five here. They patrol the suburbs and get the occasional help when the demons feel like getting uppity. Or apocalysey."

"We'll have a meeting about it with the Cleveland Council when we get there and after their problems are solved," Andrew said.

"Good. And after I finish making this patrol schedule, you wanna go check out downtown Birmingham? See a movie, do some shopping and other brother-sister type bonding stuff?" Buffy asked, putting a pin on the map. The White Chapel Memorial Cemetery in Troy needed to have a walk through, as did the Roseland Park Cemetery in Berkley.

"Sure, but can we make a short little trip to a store in Clawson?" Andrew finally turned to face his sister with his biggest wide eye pout. "It's called Warp 9 and it's a—"

"A comic book store, I know," Buffy snorted. "I had one of the slayers here check out any of those stores within a 50 mile radius after we landed. And yes, we can go. And hey, do you smell Taco Bell?"

Seconds after the words left her mouth, their team of four could be heard running down the stairs and stumbling into the kitchen, hands full with numerous twelve packs of tacos.

Rolling his eyes, Andrew put the lid on his new creation, knowing they wouldn't be eating it that night.

"Who wants tacos?" Carolin yelled.


End file.
